I have always been a fan of the movie The Big Lebowski. I have seen it several times over the years. However, to this day I could not give you a Suitable Explanation for the plot. I can quote several memorable lines and reference scenes from the movie. But I WILL NOT give any firm answers as to what the movie is truly all about.

The closest answer to explain this film I ever heard had to come from an Alien Culture.

This movie even inspired the creation of the religion Dudeism a.k.a. “The World’s Slowest Growing Religion”. In fact, it led to me becoming an Ordained Minister within their sect. All it took was the power of $25 and United States Post Office to become Ordained. Let’s face it more power has been assigned for less in Matters of Importance.

I never really did anything with the title. Yet. But someday I would like to put the title down on a job application. I just want to see the look on the Interviewer’s face. However, I am not willing to use the title to get better parking in front of hospitals. However, I am going to leave that decision up to my bladder.

I have never really studied the Tenants of my Faith. And I never really questioned them either. It is the holdout from my Catholic upbringing. Asking questions just leads to trouble. And I got into enough of it with my time spent there. But I recently read of an Exorcism or “Dudercism” Ceremony. Imagine the Public Service that can be done in the name of “You ARE NOT as Cool as You Think You Are”. It may be more important than having the Affordable Care Act.

As Buffalo Springfield sang, “There’s something going on here. What it is. Is not exactly clear.” Or maybe I should be quoting Creedance Clearwater Revival here. But definitely not the Fuckin’ Eagles.

It is odd to like something that for the most part will not have an acceptable Final Answer. Or a Final Solution. Because that is really bad. And you should never bring it up.

We live in a Society that is constantly demanding for the facts. Or at least the ones that fit whatever –Ism is yelling today.

I do not think Curiosity is given the Benefit it deserves. The virtue that it can be. Thanks in part to Eve and that damn cat giving the Notion of Curiosity a really Bad Rap.

I recently was listening to a podcast featuring the film producer Brian Grazer. (The show is already in the site’s archive which you would have to pay for. So no sense linking to it). He has just published a book about Being Curious. It is titled A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life . I found it to be an interesting read. The biggest lesson, he shared was (paraphrasing) “Take some time to shut up and listen to another human being”. The other one, “It is all right not to know everything. And you don’t have to fake that you do.”

I think it may be a better approach to start looking at a “Problem” with being Curious first. Rather than demand Answers first. Because are the right questions being asked. Is all Evidence even apparent?

Curiosity may be just keep alive in these times a Sense of Wonder to see live on this planet.

And the rug really ties the room together.

]]>http://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/06/26/a-bit-of-the-curious-for-a-friday-flush/feed/0The Friday Flushhttp://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/05/31/the-friday-flush/
http://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/05/31/the-friday-flush/#commentsSun, 31 May 2015 17:33:42 +0000http://foleywrites.com/blog/?p=1849Continue reading →]]>What can I say? Other than than the Process Gets Ugly. Originally, this was suppose to be posted Friday night. However, after work I had to deal with (all too common lately). “Seriously. We Have to Do This Now.” And sadly I had to.

I was going to hold off. But why. It was done. Ready? Who knows.

The format of this post (and possible ones like it in the future) is an idea I have had for a while. However, (until now) never actually attempted.

I make a lot of notes. And now that Facebook allows you to save links. So I accumulate quite of material during the week. I would rather get out ideas out there. So this segment is going to be a few ideas or observations. There maybe even a few questions that I am looking to have additonal information about. I am not sure yet of a defined format. I may find one. I may not. But I am going Forward.

I usually do not go out on Friday nights. I hate crowded movie theaters. I do not enjoy trying to have a conversation over loud music in a bar. Plus, most of the time the people are there to bitch about the work week, wife, kids, politics, sports BLAH BLAH BLAH. So I am going to use the time to clear some things off the notepads. It is one the Life Experiments, I am trying out. I am not going into the others because More Often than Not people do not want to understand them. They want to hear more about the Guaranteed Results. See What Happens is going to be My Approach. There is always going to be the Ego Battles in this territory. So I am going to share a segment from a Paul Jarvis’ newsletter.

So how do you avoid letting your ego take over?

Listen + Learn. In any and every situation, try and remember that you don’t know everything (which is in fact true). There’s always something to learn. If someone is saying something you don’t want to hear, then use that as an opportunity to learn (as in, why don’t you want to listen to them, why do you disagree with what they’re saying, etc?)

Give up control. Control is mostly an illusion any way. The less you try to control and the more you accept that what others think and how they feel (about your products or even your character) is beyond your control. Your idea or product or even job could bear no fruits. It sucks, yes, but it’s not the end of the world (and doesn’t mean you can’t then try something new).

If you ask someone for help or feedback, circle back to #1 and #2. Too often we ask questions of others we think we already know the answers to. If you’re asking something, there’s a reason for it.

Speaking of Life Experiments

I was listening to a podcast and he had an offer to try a sample from one of his sponsors. I always try to support the podcasts through their sponsors when feasible. This one was an odd choice. It was to try a couple of protein bars made with Cricket Flour from Exoprotein.com. I read through some of the information on their site. Basically, if you can eat a shrimp then you can eat a cricket. Biologically, they are closely related. And I have to say they were not bad at all. It is just right now their price point is not going to make them a staple for me yet.

Then I fear such a food source may make me a better Bait Food for the Zombies.

I finally watched the Transformers: Age of Extinction and I am still watching this series Out of Spite. You do not need to wear 3D glasses to see the Steam Rising of the Turds here. The series has not had any real character development. And the latest one decided that a defined plot line did not need to be included either. This is Special Effects for the sake of Special Effects.

The problem with this franchise is like many other things that need to be reformed. As long as they continue to Suck in the Money then reform will never happen. Any time I hear more about the Budget Costs then I suspect there is a better chance to make an argument about the Fraud and Waste involved. I want to hear more about the Creative Effort involved. Because that is where the Risk/Rewards are really found.

I have to say that was more Cohesive than what a budget of $210 Million Dollars produced.

]]>http://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/05/31/the-friday-flush/feed/0Karmicalhttp://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/05/12/karmical/
http://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/05/12/karmical/#commentsTue, 12 May 2015 20:47:22 +0000http://foleywrites.com/blog/?p=1844Continue reading →]]>I know the word used to title this post does not exist. Consider the word to be a Sniglet. In this case, I am using the word to describe a condition or a circumstance. In other words, the nomenclature here is in need of some work. Karmical is what happens is when the Laws of Karma are translated or observed through a Sense of Humor. Which is usually countered with the question, “How can you laugh at that?”

Last week, it was finally warm enough to open the windows at work. I happened to be looking out the window. Then I started to hear a Low Thumping sound above my head. I was trying to find the source of it. I looked up to see a fly repeatedly flying into the window pane. How many times have I acted in the same manner? I can see where I need to go. I can see what I need. And yet there is some Invisible Force stopping me. It is so frustrating and annoying.

It was a similar to a moment I had a couple of weeks ago when I had to reinstall my printer/scanner on my laptop. I thought the process was going to take 15-20 minutes top. I had the Installation CD. Well, after four and half hours I had to stop because I had to go to bed. And I had yelled WTF enough for night at my computer. The next day, Google searches and system updates still did not fix the error message that kept popping up on the screen. I was getting close to reenacting the “Gorilla VS. the Samsonite” on the printer.

So I had to step away. And think of another approach. Which was to Uninstall and start over. Second time was the Charm to make it work.

Now back to fly who should have taken a moment to reassess his actions. Because his repeated Thumps against the window stirred the spider whose web was also in the window. And on his last attempt at the window he changed his Angle of Attack. Successfully getting himself stuck in the Spider’s Web. The Spider who in less than 30 seconds later had him spun in the web. See Picture above of the Final Scene for the fly.

It is moments that like this that made me take notice. I also have a Sense of Humor is not exactly Centered.

I can take it as a reassurance that that there is Karma Balance to the Universe. Or I can be like Charlton Heston at the end of The Planet of the Apes screaming “There is No God!”

This photo is from a park that is near where I work. I tried to go there when I can to take walk around it on my lunch break. Get outside for a bit and get away from all of the “electronic” distractions. It also depends on the parking lot at work. There are many days lately that if I left I would never be able to find a space when I get back. I will spare the long explanation of why that is.

The winter here was long and brutally cold. It just did not want to give up this year. But the last week, it seems like things are starting to change weather wise at least.

This winter left me off track with my writing. The cold just took the energy out of me. However, it was the case of the last year or so too. I am not going to go into the details. I am not going to list all the arguments, shortcomings and failures. Some were my fault. Some were inevitable. It was a combination of things. And I got drained by them.

I am just going to go along for now with Spring. And I get to start again. Somethings may regrow. Somethings may have to be eliminated. Somethings may get straightened out. Somethings may mend. The problem is after all that the “X-ray” will always show that there was a “break”. That is the hard part.

Stop thinking about what was. Just go back to working on what is and what could be. It is time to begin again.

]]>http://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/05/12/gray-returns-to-green/feed/020,000 Days on Earthhttp://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/02/12/20000-days-on-earth/
http://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/02/12/20000-days-on-earth/#commentsThu, 12 Feb 2015 23:12:20 +0000http://foleywrites.com/blog/?p=1834Continue reading →]]>“You have got to understand your limitations. It’s your limitations that make you the wonderful disaster that you most probably are.”

Nick Cave

When it comes to results of person’s Artistic Pursuit, I am not interested in sales numbers, chart positions or popularity trends. I also find people who Spew the importance of such numbers to actually be Boring and Uninspired people. Who themselves are Hiding behind those details.

I am mores interested in people who are creating despite the not have the Overwhelming numbers previous mentioned here. People who Charting their Own Course and Methods are far more interesting to me. Thus, they become more Enduring for me. They are really Characters within themselves. Not Charactures.

If you took the writers Edgar Allan Poe, Henry Miller, William Faulkner. And then combined them with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley with a touch of Iggy Pop. You might come up with a person who resembles Writer/Singer Nick Cave. He has had a Cult-like following in music for more than 30 years now. In the mid 90’s/ early 2000’s his song Red Right Hand was used in many soundtracks. (The X-Files, Scream, Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

He is the focus of his own movie, 20,000 Days on Earth. In the movie, he makes an observation of how the Rock Star really should be that well known by the audience. The Rock Star should maintain a Sense of Mystery about himself. It is hard to say if that is true about this movie. It has the feel of a documentary film yet the structure is fictionalized in the terms of the action. The scenes with his therapist and the ones where he is talking with the people who run his archive are staged. However, he does reveal parts about himself within them. But we have to remember he is only allowing us to see what he wants. There is no Interviewer in this movie driving the Narrative.

In the movie, he talks to three different people with whom he collaborated with while he is driving in car. Yet the way they are edited in the film it seems like they are only there in dream. However, they are important to the narrative. First is the Actor Ray Winstone who appeared in the film The Proposition which was written by Nick Cave. (NOTE: The Proposition is one of the Best (and Least Known) Western of the last 20 years.) They talk about the Role and its Performance. And wonder about how and if a person can Reinvent himself. Second is former Bad Seeds guitarist Blixa Bargeld and they talk about the cause that ended their work relationship. Their biggest enemy was Time Itself. Finally, Pop singer Kylie Minogue who sung with him on the hit song Where the Wild Roses Grow. It was on the album Murder Ballads. Nick Cave admits a lot of people bought that a lot of people bought that album and “then decided to have nothing more to do with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds”. But here the two talk about Remembrance.

This is a movie about a man trying Examine his life in the search to understand his own Creative Nature. That he may never fully understand the Nature of the Muse he is searching of. He has to accept that and Continue on with the work.

This movie is about what he reveals and the parts he keeps Mysterious. And that keeps His Illusion of the Rock Star. This is where The Fact and The Fiction meet and how his life exists on the Borderline of the two Realms.

“All of our days are numbered. We cannot afford to be idle. To act on a bad idea is better than not to act at all. Because the worth of the idea never becomes apparent until you do it. Some times this idea can be the smallest thing in the world. A little flame that you hunch over and cup with your hand and pray it will not be extinguished by all the storm that hollows around it. If you can hold on to that flame. Great things can be constructed around it. Massive. Powerful. And world changing. All held up by the tiniest of ideas.”

Nick Cave

]]>http://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/02/12/20000-days-on-earth/feed/0American Sniperhttp://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/02/08/american-sniper/
http://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/02/08/american-sniper/#commentsSun, 08 Feb 2015 19:04:16 +0000http://foleywrites.com/blog/?p=1828Continue reading →]]>“War is such an emotional subject, maybe I was a fool to think it wouldn’t.”

I saw the film American Sniper. Let me state a few things before I begin. I am familiar with the story of Chris Kyle but do not know all the details of his story. I have not read his autobiography that this movie was based on. I may at some point but my To Be Read Pile has enough on it already. I have great admiration as a film director for Clint Eastwood. This is probably his best directing work since Gran Torino. Bradley Cooper did a great acting job in this and so did Siena Miller. It was a very good movie that you should see.

I have gone back and forth on how I feel about the Wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. The Post 9/11 title “The War on Terror” which needs an addendum to it. “The War on Terror: There Will Always be Assholes”. I really do not want to go into a political discussion with this movie. I know people who served in both of these conflicts. I have my Questions and Curiosities about their Experience there. However, I know they will not respond because of the fact “I was never there”. I know there is more than one Point of View to a story. This film could be a starting point to a discussion.

If you see this movie, try to put your political views aside for 2 hours and 15 minutes. I have heard the “Political Pundits” from both sides having another one of their “discussion” on this film with their usual screaming matches. When it comes down to it people like Michael Moore and Sarah Palin are basically the same. They are “Agitators” who use Sound Bites to get attention. Neither one of this two or people like them have any ideas (or willingness) to deal with the “Pragmatic” side of the issue they are on the Soap Box about. Plus, neither one of them want a discussion because they need to Stick On Point to their views. They are nothing but Click Bait. So please Don’t Click.

Another point is about the phrase “Based on a True Story” is used to avoid lawsuits. Every film based on a true event uses it. The reason is because they only have so much time to tell the story in movie. It would be impossible to cover everything. So if you need to fill in the details then you have to do some research on your own.

I hate to be using the term “Lone Gunman” here because leads into idea of Crazy Conspiracy Theorists. However, at the moment I cannot come up with one. So please forgive me.

This was an interesting choice of film for Clint Eastwood to direct. Clint Eastwood is the iconic representation of the “Avenging Lone Gunman” from the roles of The Man with No Name and Dirty Harry. Who would later go on to make the movie Unforgiven in which he attempts to Break Down the components of those type of roles. This scene best demonstrates that notion.

It is all right to have a movie looking at the “cost of violence” in a fictional setting or a time long past from here without there being an issue. It is a Safe Mental Distance. However, the same question is being asked here is based on an actual person. Here with have to attached a real name and face to it. It makes us Uneasy and it should. The following is the trailer.

The story of Chris Kyle is also what happens when a person becomes Legendary. He is also a Navy SEAL which carries additional Mythology with it. (See the movie Act of Valorthat was filmed with active duty Navy SEALS) It is also combined with history of events. History is taught with the Bulletin Points of High and Low moments. However, when you start examining the nature of the person involved with those moments then things get to become a bit more Complicated. We begin to see the Strengths and Flaws of that person. Place those against a perceived Legendary status and the Argument begins.

This is not the first time Clint Eastwood has made a movie about how Icons made during war are not what they appear to be. Flags of Our Father . How the story of the men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima story was modified in order to help sell war bonds. The companion movie Letters from Iwo Jima showed the cost of that battle through the narrative of Japanese soldiers. There also a price (right or wrong) that our enemies have too.

Another thing people forget is that film is “Show, Don’t tell” visual style of storytelling. If you want to hear a long speech about the ramifications of the war then skip this movie. Plus, you would never hear a long speech in a Clint Eastwood movie. They rarely if ever are used in War (or Action) movies. The most memorable one was George C. Scott in the Opening of Patton or the Jack Nicholson “You Can’t Handle the Truth” scene from A Few Good Men. (Which is really a court drama movie)

Pay attention to the visuals of the film. Here is a man who has to watch and react to war through the lens of the scope on his rifle. He sees the target and the results of his actions. The metaphor is he sees the war “through a microscope”. There are no Indiscriminate targets for him. They all have a face he sees. As he gains better focus as a sniper the price is he loses Focus on his family. This movie is then how he begins to regain the Balance between the two.

I know this movie is His Story but not the only one. The audience needs to keep this in mind because it is not theirs especially, if they have never been in that Situation of War. This is a story about what we asking Men like Chris Kyle to do and the price to it.

I came upon another opinion on the film from Henry Rollins. (I can agree and disagree with him. Either way he makes me think.)

I hate this time of year. And it’s not about the weather. December/January is when all “The best and worse of” get published pretty much everywhere. A lot of them are nothing but “Click Bait”. It is also the time of all the award shows. Most of them are “an Apple vs an Orange” arguments. They really aren’t a good metric to use to judge one against another.

However, if you are trying to create anything you will unavoidably be compared to them. Then the question “Why can’t you do that?”

I also get an Annual Report from WordPress on the traffic to my blog. I also get a different monthly chart from my web hosting company. The two of them are completely different from each other that I cannot draw an accurate conclusion at all about my site.

My site has not had my comments lately either. However, when I read other sites I am thankful that I am nowhere close to having to deal with Level: Troll comments. I have my site set that I have to approve the comments. I will as long as there engaging the post. And it does not have to exactly agree with my point of view. I am willing to try to have a conversation. I occasionally get the “You are so stupid. So Shut the Fuck Up!” I don’t approve this. Not because I can’t take it. It is because that statement is nothing but Noise Without any Substance behind it. And the same the same time the comment that says “I found your post interesting. I will check back for more in the future.” It is positive. However, it is generic. Plus more times than not the person’s URL is bogus website of “spams and scams”.

I need to figure out a better feedback loop for the future of this site. Using Web Stats is at the moment a very unproductive use of time with frustrating guess work. I also do not have anyone at the moment in my daily life to “debrief” with. There is no way I will ever mention this with my coworkers. I remember years ago reading from various writers stating that the “Friends and Family” plan will fail as a feedback method. The reality is they are Indifferent to what I am doing. I am not saying this out of anger or disappointment. I am just recognizing how things are at the moment. Their lives have obligations and catalysts that are not mine. I get it. However, they are things I will never have for myself. It is what it is. So I have to leave it at that. Plus, I do not want to anymore to be Mentally Waterboarding them with questions such as “Did you read it?” Or “What do you think about it?” I need to get away from the Painful Awkwardness that this causes.

The worse part has been it has caused me to be Indifferent about my work the last few months. I also slid a bit into what Seth Godin calls “The Tyranny of Being Picked”.

I needed to make that confession. Because it is time to get moving again.

]]>http://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/01/27/metrics/feed/0Course Redirectionhttp://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/01/12/course-redirection/
http://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/01/12/course-redirection/#commentsMon, 12 Jan 2015 21:40:53 +0000http://foleywrites.com/blog/?p=1818
]]>http://foleywrites.com/blog/2015/01/12/course-redirection/feed/0To the Contraryhttp://foleywrites.com/blog/2014/12/08/to-the-contrary/
http://foleywrites.com/blog/2014/12/08/to-the-contrary/#commentsMon, 08 Dec 2014 22:16:10 +0000http://foleywrites.com/blog/?p=1813Continue reading →]]>Until recently, I never fully grasped the idea that “the creative process is ugly.” And why many Creators say that is important to step back and take breaks. (For more on this read Everything I Know by Paul Jarvis)

The month of December for me is like trying to pound the square peg into the round hole. I know what I want and what I need. However, I am fully aware of what I am actually going to get. And every year, that “chasm” seems to be widening. It has also been the year that can be summed up as being set to the musical framing and concepts of a Pink Floyd album. Communication breakdowns. And the seismic “shifts and rifts” in many of my relationships at this time. Which in most cases it was inevitable.

When things are too much for him comedian Bill Burr says, “I’m tapping out.” And this time of year is not meant for everyone. Just watch the evening news, between terrorists and shoppers there aren’t many “shiny examples of humanity”. And this time of year is never practiced with “moderation”.

So for the next month, I am stepping back from my engagement with social media (Facebook, Twitter) and all of its seasonal noise for this time of year. I cannot say completely but it will be dramatically reduced for the next month. For the most part, I just need a break from it. Catch up on reading time. Finish the half written blog posts that piled up. See what ideas are remaining on the notepads. Actually watch the documentaries in the Netflix queue. Are all amongst the things that I need to clear up and out.

I want to comment on this opening. I remember seeing this in the theater and sensed that this was not going to be your typical “John Wayne” style of a WWII movie. The flag is shown with the sun backlighting it. The music is very mellow compared to the old war movies where the music is more of an upbeat “March to Battle”. The Old Man walking and you can tell he may have survived the war but time still has taken its toll on him. Also notice how the color of the scene is neutral. Where the older movies tended to make the “heroes” bright and the “enemy” darker. This scene shows how you can convey emotion without the need for dialogue or narration. And you really do not have to put images “right in the face” of the viewer to make them feel an emotion.

The song was composed by John Williams and was titled “Hymn to the Fallen”.